Take my 003 sessions to a 'real' studio?

[drake24]

Been in a 'garage' studio for the past 2 yrs recording an 11 song CD. My producer/editor is a very talented musician...and a capable pro tools user. We recorded all real drums, guitars and basses on his PT 003 rack mount. All vocals were recorded thru a Universal Audio 6176 and a Rode K2.

We've gone thru all 11 songs and cleaned up all tracks and made sure all the grooves were tight, etc.

It is now time to do the final mix and I'm wondering if I should do that at a studio with all the hardware/software options to make the music sound as professional as possible.

I have spent a substantial amount of time, energy and money to make my dream come true...so I want to make sure I'm not skimping during the last part of the process. The CD sounds pretty damn good as is...but doesn't have that final "pro sound/radio ready" polish yet.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Keybeeetsss]

Technically, its ur budget; I'd say yes, u should do that; I really hate seeing people thinking they can spend $4.73 but expect a $4,073 product...

Spend the money & make it rite I say... but thatz jus me on'eim

[John_Toolbox]

The biggest advantage of a pro studio is it will be acoustically tuned, so you'll hear things in the mix that you may not notice in your untreated basement. The important thing with a professional mix is that it will sound good on anything, not just on genelecs. I would also bring commercially released CD's that sound the way you want yours to sound, that way you can compare them during the session.

[drake24]

Thanks for the responses!

I should add that all songs are originals and I hired all top notch players...the bass player is currently touring with a famous rock band, one of the drummers was the 'house band' drummer for a recent TV music show and the lead guitarist is at that same pro level.

So my initial cost for that first week of recording was a nice chunk. Since then we've (producer/editor/lead guitarist/keyboard player) been layering tracks with guitars and keys....and recording vocals/background vocals. So I've pretty much tripled that initial cost it to this point.

[O.G. Killa]

+1 for going to a good "real" studio. Not all studios are the same. take a tour of a few of them. Listen to some of the tracks that have come out of there. During the tour ask about the gear... make sure it all works. It's not uncommon for some of the cheaper studios to have lots of great gear, and none of it works! Maintenance is a bigger determinant of what makes a good studio moreso than the gear list itself.

See if you can listen to some songs you know in the room when you are taking the tour... etc.

I strongly suggest, especially if you are mixing through a console, to mix to "stems" back into protools. That way you don't have to recall the whole room to do a few little tweaks to the mix after you've left the studio.

Have fun and enjoy!

[Keybeeetsss]

Also let me say this; don't just take it to a real studio because u think it is; Take it to a real mix guy... Sound hotels look great but can give suck sound if put in the wrong hands; I hav guys that are real deal mixers ($3-5k per song) that are mixing @ their own places(Studios in home|not home studio)...

[tamasdragon]

I think Keybeeetsss has this right again.

Although a studio is always a good place to be, the real question is the person who will mix it. In other words, I rather pay George Massenburg to mix on the 003, than to pay a subpar guy in a studio.

Equipment is very important, but the more important thing in the chain is always the man who operates it.
of course imho

[BradLyons]

Originally Posted by Keybeeetsss

Also let me say this; don't just take it to a real studio because u think it is; Take it to a real mix guy... Sound hotels look great but can give suck sound if put in the wrong hands; I hav guys that are real deal mixers ($3-5k per song) that are mixing @ their own places(Studios in home|not home studio)...

Hey, we agree on something! Seriously, it's about WHO is mixing it and not where it is being mixed. Okay, the room matters----the gear matters too, but the guy mixing the tracks, well he's the most important factor here. And if the guy knows what he is doing, he'll have the good gear if he's serious about his craft. I do a little tracking here and there but primarily, MIXING---for the very aim you're talking about---for those that are tracking elsewhere, at home, out live, etc....but to bring the tracks back to mix them. The best sounding tracks come from those that are tracked with great mics, pres, and the knowledge of the engineer knowing how to get the best sound.....but there are things that mix guys, like myself, can do after the fact to bring the sound alive too. Take it to a real engineer.... that is, if you really want it to sound great.

[tamasdragon]

Wow, it seems to me that not a lot of things changed with time.
Still musician-instrument-room-engineer-equipment,etc.
Not so suprising.

[albee1952]

I thought we should go for the place with the best coffee.................or the one downstairs from the strip club

But I have to agree with the others